Kenny Hinkle walked along the St. Lucie River on Monday, recording layers of blue-green toxic algae on the water.

"I mean, the smell is just horrendous," Hinkle can be heard saying on the video.

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Hinkle heads up an organization called bullsugar.org, a group that is fighting for clean water in Florida.

Right now, their fight is a difficult one.

Toxic algae has bloomed along waterways all across the Treasure Coast and even into Palm Beach County.

The oceans are now also contaminated. Every beach in Martin County was closed on Monday because of health concerns due to toxic algae in the water.

"We have an environmental catastrophe happening right now before our eyes," Hinkle told a group at a meeting Monday night.

The meeting was organized by Citizens for Clean Water, and it brought together environmental groups from all over the region.

The groups all share one goal: cleaning the water.

"It's infuriating and it's very sad," said Evan Miller, of Citizens for Clean Water. "It's tragic."

"To know that (the water is) right there and we can't touch it is a tragedy," said Deedra Ryder, also with Citizens for Clean Water.

All the people at the meeting agree the toxic algae is caused by water being discharged from Lake Okeechobee. Other people do not agree, saying it's more complicated than that.

But everyone agrees that the toxic algae is dangerous.

Doctors said just touching the algae can give you a rash. Ingesting it can make you sick, and can even cause liver and kidney damage.

At the meeting Monday night, the groups exchanged ideas on how to convince lawmakers to step in and stop the discharges. People at the meeting agreed it will only happen if the entire community gets involved.

"Just getting the word out, basically," Ryder said. "We really want people to just be educated."

"We have to be able to stand up at this point and say, 'Enough is enough.' Things have to change," Miller said.

Martin County has established a hotline to inform residents of beach conditions. The hotline will be updated every morning.

The number to call is 772-463-2810.

Martin County commissioners called an emergency meeting for Tuesday morning to discuss the growing problem of toxic algae in area waterways.